Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

March, 2004

Paint Removal from Concrete

Q. I'm trying to remove overspray from my concrete floor in my bedroom, but to little or no avail. I've tried scraping it off but it takes about 4 hours to scrape off a couple square feet of the paint left from original construction. I'm painting the floor when im done and Iknow I need to remove everything from the floor first. Do you have any suggestions to a cheap, quicker remedy. Thank you for your time.

A. Scraping to remove paint overspray is a tough and time-consuming job. Yes, it is a good idea to remove the old paint prior to applying a fresh new coating. However, it is not necessary to remove the old paint but to smooth old surface and eliminate the roughness from the old paint.

If you can tolerate some extra dust in the room, we suggest renting a floor sander from your local ACE Hardware Store. Rent the rotating drum type, but a flat vibrator type. They are similar to the hand sanders used in the woodshop, rather than a sanding pad that is 4 X 8 inches. The vibrator floor sander has a pad that is approximately 12 X 16 inches. There are several grades of sandpaper available from very course to fine. Within one hour and a couple sheets of sandpaper, you should have a surface ready to paint.